Tufting machine



July 8, 1947. J. K. MCUTCHEN TUFTING MACHINE Filed Nov. 24, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 .051. KrTnacd-cu-ry u .1. K. 'M'OCUTCHEN 2,423,605

TUFTING MACHINE Filed Nov. 24, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Zia 2A K hag/.1,

y' 1947- J. K. M cu'rcHN 2,423,605

' TUFTING Y MACHINE Filed Nov. 24, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Whit/r ch,

gamma bow Patented July 8, 1947 UNITED STATE.

S PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to a tufting machine, and more especially to a tufting machine having a plurality of needles for piercing a fabric and having a conventional feed mechanism and also having a looper shaft provided with an off-set or an eccentric portion on which a plurality of looper bills are mounted for oscillation along with the oscillating shaft and having another shaft provided with a plurality of leaf spring knife members adapted to resiliently and slidablyengage the looper bill members, which shaft is adapted to oscillate in unison with and in the same direction as the looper bill shaft.

It is an object of this invention to provide a multiple needle tufting machine having a plurality of vertically adjustable loopers mounted on an off-center portion of an oscillating shaft and having a plurality of cutting members mounted on another oscillating shaft for slidably engaging the looper bill members mounted on the first named shaft for severing the loops formed by the looper bills upon rearward movement of the looper bills, and said knife being adapted to slide downwardly on the looper bills as the looper bills move forwardly to engage strands of yarn carried by the needles for formingloops.

It. is another object of this invention to provide a. tufting machine having an oscillating looper shaft with a plurality of looper bills; thereon and having an oscillatable cutting shaft with a plurality of cutters thereon for cutting the loops formed on the looper bills, the looper bills being mounted on an eccentrically disposed portion of the looper shaft, and the looper bills having integral therewith needle guiding elements for assuring that the looper bill will go on the proper side of the needle for formation of the loop.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation of my improved tufting machine with portions broken away and portions in section; t

Figure 2 is a cross sectional view along the line 2-2 in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a bottom plan view of the tufting machine;

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional, View taken along the line 4-4 in Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 5-5 in Figure 4;

along the same line but showing the needle in elevated position;

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 5 but showing the needle in elevated position;

Figure 8 is a sectional detailed view taken substantially along the line 8-8 in Figure 6.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, the numeral it indicates the main bed plate of the machine which has an. uprising standard H which curves into a laterally extending portion l2: which merges into a head portion !3. In the portion i2 and top portion of standard if there is mounted for rotation a shaft l4 which reciprocates a needle bar 15 in a conventional manner which is not shown. The needle bar has a cross arm iii secured thereto on which are mounted downwardly projecting rods 11. and is which are mounted in guide members 19 an 29 on plate members 2! and 22 which in turn, are secured to a plate member 23 secured to the lower portion of the head 13. On the lower end of the vertically reciprocating bars ii and i8 and also-on the lower end of the main needle bar Hi there is fixedly secured a transverse bar 28 which has a plurality of needles 24 therein, said needles penetrating through the holes in a presser foot 25 which is pivotally secured as at 26 to a presser bar 21. mounted for vertical reciprocation in the needle head and driven by conventional means from the drive shaft it. Each of the needles has an eye 30 therethrough, through which passes a strand of yarn 3!, which first passes through suitable eyes 32 in a bar 33 fixed on the upper end of the vertically reciprocating needle bar 5. The strands of yarn are drawn from suitable sources, not shown, and through suitable tension means, not shown, on their way to the needles,

The main drive shaft I4 is mounted in suitable bearings in the sewing machine frame and has a plurality of eccentric driving mechanisms associated therewith. One of, these comprises a crank 35 which has rotatably mounted thereon a bearing 3% which has an arm 31 extending therefrom, the free end of which is pivotally secured to an arm 38 which is fixedly secured on a looper shaft 39 for imparting oscillation to the looper shaft. Interconnection can be by means of the lower end of the arm 38v being split and slidably fitting around the shaft 39 and clampingly engaging the shaft 39 by means of a bolt 40.

The shaft I4 also has thereon an eccentric 45 surrounded by the circular portion 46 on the upper end of a rod 41, the lower end of the rod- 4.! being pivotally secured as at 48 to an arm. 49 adjustably secured on front. feed shaft 50. The

is pivoted as at 59 to the free end of a link,

60 which in turn is pivotally mounted as at 6| 0n the framework of the machine. not only an up and down movement to the connecting rod 51 but also a lateral swinging movement. The lower end of this connectin rod 51 is pivotally connected to an arm 62 adjustably secured on a rear feed dog shaft 63 which is mounted for oscillation at its ends on pivot screws 64 and 55. The rear feed dog shaft 63 has adjustably secured thereon arms 55 and 67 which are pivotally secured as at 58 to the rear end of the feed plate mechanism 59. The front feed shaft 55 has adjustably secured thereon arms 79 and H which have bolts 12 and E3 in their free ends which are mounted for sliding movement in slots 14 in the front end of the feed dog mechanism 69. The feed mechanism has ribs 4| which are serrated on their upper surfaces in a conventional manner for feeding the fabric through the machine. These ribs 4i work in suitable slots 76 in the throat plate H.

The members 59 of the feeddog mechanism support a suitable plate 75 which is slotted to allow passage of the needles after the needles pass through the slots 79 in the throat plate H. The ribs 4| of the plate project upwardly and work in the slots 16 in a conventional manner and are serrated for propelling the fabric 18 through the machine and cooperate with the presser foot 25 in such operation. 7

The looper bill shaft 39 is mounted for oscillation between pivot screws 89 and 8! mounted in the framework of the machine, and'the shaft 39 is also supported by'a suitable bearing 82 secured to the lower surface of the framework of the machine. The looper shaft 39 has an ofiset or crank portion 83 which is supported by crank arms 94 and 85, one end of the crankarm 85 being fixedly secured to shaft 39 and the other end being fixedly secured to the crank portion 83, whereas the other end of shaft 83 is adjustably secured in crank arm 85, and the other end of the crank arm 85 is mounted for oscillation on the pivot screw 8 I Secured on the auxiliary shaft 83 are a plurality of blocks 85 which are forked a at 87 so as to slidably fit on the shaft portion 83. The blocks 86 are adapted to be clamped in position around shaft 83 by means of a suitable screw 88..

These blocks 85 have a suitable groove therein in which the lower end of a looper bill shank 99 is mounted. The free end of the blocks 86 have threadably mounted therein a screw 9i which penetrates a cap member 92 which is adapted to clampingly engage the edge of the shank 98 and hold the same in an adjusted position in the blocks 86. The shanks 96 at their upper ends have a looper bill shank 93 removably secured thereto by means of a suitable screws 94. The looper bill 93 has a forwardly projectingbill portion 89. which is slightly hooked downwardly as at 95 to prevent the loops frompassing' forwardly off of the bill 89 when it moves rearwardly. The

Thi gives shank also has fixedly secured thereon a nedle guard 96 which projects upwardly and forwardly and has its upper end beveled and is in alignment with the needle when it moves toward lowermost position so as to position the needle so the looper bill will go on the proper side of the needle. In other words, these needle guards 96 guide the needle and cause it to be so positioned that the looper bill will pass between the needle and above the eye thereof and between the needle and the strand carried by the needle to form a loop.

A suitable cutter shaft 55 is provided which is mounted for oscillation by pivot screws fill and 892 engaging its ends. This cutter shaft has a plurality of rods 593 adjustably secured therein by any suitable means such as set screws I04 and the rods Hi3 project forwardly and have slots 95 therein in which the lower ends of cutter blades I55 are adapted to slidably fit so they can be adjusted in position by means of a sleeve member l9? slidably fitting around these rods and pressed against the forward edge of the cutter members 595 to force them against the rear wall of slot I95 and bind them in position by means of a screw E53 threadably secured in a threaded cavity in the forward ends of the rods 153. These knives H35 are flexed to resiliently and slidably engage the sides of the looper bills 93 to cut some but not all of the loops on the looper bill upon each rearward movement of the looper bill, whereas the knives slide downwardly relative to the looper bills, upon forward movement of the looper bills to permit the looper bills to pass between the needle and the strand carried thereby and above the eye of the needle to form a loop upon the next upward movement of the needle.

The cutter shaft I95 is oscillated by means of a suitable linkage arrangement between the looper bill shaft 39 and the cutter shaft I59. The looper shaft 39 has an arm Hi3 fixed thereon, the end of which is pivotally connected to one end of a link IN, the other end is pivotally connected to the free end of arm 5 i2 adjustably secured on cutter shaft lfii) by means of clamping screw 1 E3.

The quick adjustment and lateral removal of the looper bill shank so permitted by cap 92 and screw 9! permits easy adjustment or replacement of the looper bills without removing any additional parts.

In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the inventionand although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of of the invention being defined in the claims.

I claim:

1. In a sewing machine having a plurality .of vertically reciprocating needles adapted to penetrate a base fabric and each needle being adapted to carry a strand through the fabric, an oscillating looper shaft disposed below the fabric, said looper shaft having a crank portion thereon disposed rearwardly of .the axis of'the looper shaft, thus being in offset relation to the longitudinal axis of the looper shaft, a plurality of members mounted on the crank portion and projecting forwardly to a point approximately in alinement with the axis of the looper shaft, the forward portion of each of the members having a groovefor receiving the lower end of a looper bill member, a

limitation, the scope from the machine, each looper bill member having a looper bill thereon adapted to pass between the needle and the strand carried thereby when the needle is in lowered position for forming a loop from the strand carried by its associated needle, a cutter shaft mounted for oscillation below the fabric and rearwardly of the looper members, the cutter shaft having a plurality of resilient cutter members mounted thereon, and normally flexed to have rubbing engagement with the looper bills for cutting some but not all of the loops on the looper bills as the looper members oscillate rearwardly of the machine, each of the looper members having a needle guide portion extending upwardly and forwardly and being beveled at its upper end for guiding its associated needle in its downward movement to insure that the looper bill will pass on the proper side of the needle.

2. In a sewing machine having a vertically reciprocating needle bar and a plurality of needles carried by the needle bar for penetrating a base fabric and carrying strands of yarn through the fabric, an oscillatable shaft disposed below the fabric, said oscillatable shaft having an offset or crank portion thereon disposed rearwardly of the axis of the looper shaft, a plurality of fittings adjustably secured to said shaft and extending forwardly to a point in approximate alinement with the axis of the looper shaft, a plurality of looper members each having a shank, means in the forward end of each fitting for securing a shank of a looper member for removal forwardly from the machine, each of said looper members having a forwardly projecting looper bill mounted thereon and adapted to pass between the needle and the strand carried thereby upon upward movement of the needle to form loops from the strand, a second oscillatable shaft disposed below the fabric and having a plurality of cutter members adjustably secured thereon, each of said cutter members being adapted to cooperate with the looper bills for cutting some but not all of the loops on the looper bills upon each oscillation of the looper shaft, means for oscillating the second shaft comprising a lever secured on the looper shaft and a lever secured to the second shaft and a link pivotally connected at its ends to the free ends of the levers, whereby upon oscillation of the looper shaft, the second, or cutter shaft will oscillate in the same direction.

3. In a tufting machine having an oscillatable shaft, an off-set or crank portion on said shaft, a fitting clampingly secured on the crank portion of said shank and having its free end disposed approximately in alinement with the axis of oscillation of the shaft, said fitting having on its exterior surface a substantially vertically disposed groove, a looper bill member having its lower end adapted to fit into said groove, a cap member adapted to fit over the lower end of the looper bill, and a screw loosely penetrating said cap member and threadably mounted in the fitting for pressing the cap member against the looper bill member to hold the looper bill member in said groove, whereby the cap member can be entirely removed and the looper bill can be removed without raising or lowering the same.

JOSEPH K. McCU'I'CI-IEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

